The vessel that was known as HSV-2 when it was chartered by the US Military Sealift Command is now operated by the UAE, which sent it to Aden as soon as it arrived from Australia earlier this month. Source: US Navy

The vessel that was known as HSV-2 when it was chartered by the US Military Sealift Command is now operated by the UAE, which sent it to Aden as soon as it arrived from Australia earlier this month. Source: US Navy

The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) took its sole heavy landing ship out of service during a decommissioning ceremony on 31 July.
In service for nearly 35 years, HMAS Tobruk supported missions in Somalia, East Timor, and the Solomon Islands and conducted "extensive work both in Australia and

India's state-owned Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) has launched the 17th Aadesh-class fast patrol vessel on order for the Indian Coast Guard (ICG), the company announced on 30 July.
The 50 m vessel was laid on 11 June and has been named ICGS Arush . CSL was awarded an INR15 billion (USD234 million)

A multi-purpose transport and landing ship being built for the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) has been launched at Damen's Halong Shipyard in Vietnam, the company announced in a release on 30 July.
The vessel, which Damen refers to as the RoRo 5612, is being supplied as part of the RBDF's

A senior government official has called on the Indonesian Navy (Tentara Nasional Indonesia - Angkatan Laut, or TNI-AL) to accelerate work on its Palu naval base located in Central Sulawesi in anticipation of the service's first new Type 209/1200 Chang Bogo-class diesel-electric submarine (SSK).
The

The Mexican Ministry of the Navy (SEMAR) has requested MXN5.7 billion (USD350 million) to fund local construction of a new frigate-class ship from 2016, according to SEMAR documents published in mid-July by the Ministry of Treasury and Finance (Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito

FEATURED REPORT

Australia's Air Warfare Destroyer programme has been blighted by schedule slippage, cost escalation, and dysfunctional management. Julian Kerr finds out how and why plans have gone awry, and looks at the efforts to put Project SEA 4000 back on an even keel

With Asia-Pacific countries increasingly looking to develop their defence industrial capabilities through offset, the demands being placed on foreign contractors are rising to an unprecedented level. Jon Grevatt reports

Whether combating piracy at sea, securing coastlines and trade routes, or navigating relationships with extra-regional powers, the navies of the Sub-Saharan Africa region face varied challenges over the next decade. Martin Ewence assesses how some of these navies are meeting these challenges

The US Air Force's Special Operations Command (AFSOC) has received the first of 37 Lockheed Martin AC-130J Ghostrider gunships, it was announced on 30 July.
The aircraft arrived at Hurlburt Field in Florida the day prior to the announcement, ahead of initial developmental test and evaluation

Croatia has received its first Panzerhaubitze 2000 (PzH 2000) 155 mm self-propelled artillery (SPA) systems, the country's Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced.
The MoD paraded the first vehicle at the Repair Office of the Armed Forces in Jankomir on 29 July, ahead of their public debut during the

Fleetlist
Programmes: The Pattugliatore Polivalente d'Altura (PPA) programme is for a class of six multipurpose offshore patrol vessels, with an option for a further four ships. Five are to be in a low-end configuration (patrol) and one in high-end configuration (combat). A modular design approach

Notes: (1) It was announced in November 2014 that a new Coast Guard was to be established in order to consolidate resources and to simplify the command, control, and responsibilities of existing maritime agencies, including the Sea and Coastguard, Police, and Customs. The new force took effect in